Breaking Down the ‘Civilization VI’ Tech Tree

Civilization VI has been out for about a week now and strategy game fans have been loving it so far. Like most games in the Civilization series, the amount of detail involved in the gameplay can be a bit overwhelming for new players. To help alleviate some of this, we wanted to break down one of the most important components of Civilization VI: the Technology tree.

A staple in previous versions of Civilization games, this edition of the “tech tree” still serves the purpose of allowing you to research new buildings, wonders, units, and abilities.

The tech tree spans over eight different eras, each with their own set of technologies to examine. Let’s get started by taking a look at the first era, the Ancient Era.

Ancient Era

This is where the game begins. You’ll start off with a choice to research one of five very important and vastly different technologies: Pottery, Animal Husbandry, Sailing, Astrology, and Mining. These five technologies are essentially the building blocks to the entire tech tree.

Classical Era

If you happen to be playing on an island map, the Classical Era is where your empire can really start to take off. Helped by the Celestial Navigation technology, civilizations can start to build a Harbor District, the Great Lighthouse, harvest food from water tiles, and allow traders to start embarking to other nations to boost the economy.

Also available in this era is the Shipbuilding technology that helps bolster your naval operations even further.

Oceans not found on your map? The Classical Era still has a lot to provide. Horseback Riding is a wonderful stepping stone to building a strong military force, and Mathematics can provide you with more money and the ability to build the Petra.

Medieval Era

The standout technology from this era has to be Education. Science-oriented technologies oddly enough are not commonly found in Civlization VI. That means Education should be researched and implemented sooner rather than later.

Cities that are in dire need of some production boost can benefit from researching Apprenticeship. Once completed, you’re able to build an Industrial Zone and all production-related buildings.

Renaissance Era

It’s one of the most underrated wonders in the game, but the Forbidden City should not be overlooked. It can bolster your culture production by 5 and give you a very valuable extra wildcard policy slot.

How to get it? You’ll need to research the Printing tech. Besides the ability to build the Forbidden City, researching Printing can double the tourism output from your Great Works of Writing.

The Renaissance Era also provides Banking — a strong technology that can help alleviate any issues with gold and propel you to riches.

Industrial Era

The Industrial Era provides players with one of the biggest improvements to a military unit. Rangers can be produced once Rifling research has been completed. If you’re able to get to this technology before every other civilization, you’ll be in an advantageous position to start overwhelming your enemies’ forces.

One of the few “city center” (buildings within the city) buildings that the game now has is the Sewer. It can provide much-needed housing without requiring a district. Need more housing during this stage of the game? You can find it by researching Sanitation.

Modern Era

Finally, you’ve made it to the later stages of the game. With the Modern Era comes a lot of powerful technologies that can put you over the top in your bid for victory.

If you’re tired of controlling units on the ground, you can take to the skies with the Flight tech. Besides the obvious merits of having airplanes, researching Flight can enable you to build several infrastructures used for more advanced aircraft and provide bonus tourism from culture improvements.

For those with a fear of flying, you may want to take advantage of the Electricity tech instead. Regardless if you have a naval empire or if you’re landlocked, electricity can bolster your production and set you up for fast production in the late game.

Information Era

You’ve made it: You’re officially in the late game. The Information Era is your final destination for researching the latest and greatest in the world of technology.

The space race really starts to heat up here, as you’ll need to research three separate technologies in order to build three additional parts to finish your attempt to colonize Mars.

If you’re on the brink of completing a Domination victory, you’ll find a lot of helpful resources in this era. Guidance Systems allow you to build Mobile SAMs and Rocket Artillery to deal with pesky aircraft invading your airspace.

Still not able to win the game with technology? Keep researching Future Tech to gain more points for your overall score.

Want more information on Civilization VI? Head over to our Instant Expert to learn more about the newest edition of the Sid Meier series.